Welcome back to me reviewing every Generation 7 Pokemon! We’re finally here! We have gotten through the normal Pokemon and what have you, so now we have entered Legendary territory! Today we will be going over the Tapus. Now the Tapus are the Guardian Deities on their respective islands, and how the Pokedex registers them is through which order you go through their islands in. That means that we will be starting with our prominent one.
Tapu Koko – Tapu Koko is the Tapu who ex machinas the player at the beginning of the game whilst falling off a bridge. This is partly thanks to the fact that this particular Tapu is the Tapu for the main protagonist’s home island Melemele. It further cements itself in prominence because between beating the champion and the end credits, you will go with Lillie over to Tapu Koko where you can capture it. I would suggest you do so because Tapu Koko will be a huge help in catching the Ultra Beasts. Design-wise, I love Tapu Koko. It’s badass in both its normal look and its Shiny. In battle, you’d either be able to summon Electric Terrain for 5 turns or prevents ally damage from multi battles if you were to get its Hidden Ability. Electric/Fairy is finally done justice here too as instead of needing Dedenne for that type coverage, this Tapu has the type combination as well, being weak to only Poison and Ground whilst having a key Immunity to Dragon and key resistances to types such as Electric and Fighting. It should also be noted that the signature move of the Tapus, Nature’s Madness, turns into Guardian of Alola. Personally, I would much rather use Guardian of Alola, but both moves only exist to weaken the other Pokemon, which I actually find to be somewhat disappointing albeit I will admit it is good for catching Pokemon. I actually really like its Stats though! Base Speed is a whopping 130 with Attack being a good 110 and Special Attack being a decent 95. So it’s a softcore glass cannon, but that’s fine by me because I prefer quick, offensive strategies in Pokemon anyway. All in all, Tapu Koko is a real champ and definitely great to have around.
Tapu Lele – It might not look like it, but according to the Pokedex, Tapu Lele is cruel. Now with that said, Tapu Lele may look somewhat beautiful, but I don’t really like this design quite as much as its Melemele counterpart. Now, the typing here is Psychic and Fairy, which Gardevoir was already retconned to in Generation 6, so also unlike its Melemele counterpart, Lele has some dense competition in terms of how memorable it is. In fact, compared to all Tapus, I would consider Tapu Lele to be the most forgettable of the 4. However, it still has some good things going for it. It is Special-based, so its stats that go over 100 are its Special stats. Special Attack in particular is base 130, so it’ll be a Special sweeper if want to use a Tapu for the job. It also has an array of Special attacking moves to back that up. However, the main thing keeping this from being too high is that it really is not a stand out compared to other special Pokemon.
Tapu Bulu – Next comes Tapu Bulu. Its Shiny is actually really awesome, and its design looks like it could be a calm Pokemon, right? Well, it is actually that angry Tapu who decided it would be a good idea to lay waste to the market area or whatever it was that the Tapu thought it didn’t like to have its villagers build on sacred ground. Actually, come to think of it, Tapu Bulu is actually aggressive as all get-out. Now, a hindrance of Tapu Bulu is the weaknesses it has. It’s weak to Fire, Flying, Ice, Steel, and 4x weak to Poison. The fact it has weaknesses to Fire and Ice as well as a 4x weakness to anything really puts it off on the wrong foot. Also, because this is physically based and all the Fairy moves it can learn are Special aside from Guardian of Alola, you have to rely on the Grass-type if you want good STAB moves and will need to teach it moves from other typings as well. To be honest, Bulu was pretty underwhelming, much like Lele, but it’s still a fair Pokemon on its own.
Tapu Fini – And here is our last Tapu of the day, Tapu Fini! I actually like that because it is on the last island of the game and Fini is a term for finish or end. Its design really fits its typing too, which is pretty awesome! What I will say is that you don’t really see it much since it gets outshadowed by Tapu Koko, but of the other 3 Tapus, I actually like Fini the most. I think Tapu Fini looks quite majestic in appearance, so I’ll gladly have one with me if I need it. What I will say is that it is a defensive Pokemon, but its Special Attack of base 95 still makes it viable for me to use and the movepool is more catered to this than it was for Tapu Bulu. Thanks to the Water-type, It loses that weakness to Steel and is instead only weak to Electric, Grass, and Poison. However, it covers its weakness to Grass with Ice-type moves, so its only real concerns are Electric and Poison. Now, while it’s not my favorite of the Tapus, there is still plenty to like about Tapu Fini and is easily my 2nd favorite of the 4.
Love (in order of review):
Rowlet
Decidueye
Litten
Incineroar
Rockruff (Borderline with Really Like)
Lycanroc (Both Forms)
Mudsdale
Salazzle
Tsareena
Palossand
Tapu Koko
Really Like (in order of review):
Dartrix
Torracat
Pikipek
Toucannon
Mudbray
Bounsweet
Sandygast
Silvally
Tapu Fini (close to Like)
Like (in order of review):
Popplio
Vikavolt
Sensu Oricorio
Wishiwashi (Borderline with Really Like)
Toxapex
Lurantis
Steenee
Oranguru
Type: Null
Minior
Turtonator
Mimikyu
Drampa
Fair (in order of review):
Primarina (borderline with Like)
Grubbin
Charjabug
Crabawler
Crabominable
Pom-Pom Oricorio
P’au Oricorio
Baile Oricorio (not too far from Like)
Cutiefly (not too far from Dislike)
Ribombee
Mareanie (not too far from Like)
Dewpider
Araquanid
Fomantis
Morelull (close to Dislike)
Stufful
Bewear (not too far from Like)
Comfey (also in Dislike)
Passimian
Wimpod
Golisopod
Komala
Bruxish
Jangmo-o
Hakamo-o
Kommo-o (close to Like)
Tapu Lele
Tapu Bulu
Dislike (in order of review):
Brionne
Trumbeak
Yungoos
Shiinotic (close to Fair)
Salandit
Comfey (also in Fair)
Pyukumuku
Dhelmise
Yeah, Lele was underwhelming for me too SurvivorFreak13, hence the Fair, but at the same time, I don't really dislike it either. idk For me, it's hard to decide which of Lele and Bulu appeals to me less.
